Chronic, low-level exposure of health care professionals to waste anesthetic gases has been linked to increased incidences of neurologic and reproductive dysfunction, hepatic and renal toxicity, and neoplasia.
Increased risk of addiction in certain occupational settings may be related to exposures in the workplace that sensitize the reward pathways in the brain and promote substance use.
All halogenated agents are classified as potent central nervous system depressants.
Atmospheric Waste Isoflurane Concentrations Using Conventional Equipment and Rat Anesthesia Protocols
Smith, Jennifer C. Bolon, Brad
Volume 41, Number 2, March 2002 , pp. 10-17(8) Journal American Association for Laboratory Animal Science PMID: 11958597
From the 84th Western Veterinary Conference
Waste Anesthetic Gases: The Invisible Treat (General Session)
Heidi Reuss-Lamky, LVT, VTS
Symptoms associated with short-term exposure usually occur immediately or shortly after the contact and can include fatigue, headaches, drowsiness, nausea, depression, and irritability. Other short-term effects reported included depression, lethargy, and ataxia. Long-term effects reported myoneuropathies, muscle weakness, neuron destruction, and learning disabilities/cognitive disorders.
Long-term or chronic implications become evident days, weeks, or even years after the exposure. Examples of conditions seen as a result of long-term exposure include reproductive disorders, liver and kidney damage, neoplasia, hematopoietic changes, pruritus, and chronic nervous system dysfunction
Reproductive Effects- In a survey undertaken by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, it was discovered that the risk of spontaneous abortions was 1.3-2 times the general population among female physician anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists.
Other studies demonstrated that working hospital anesthetists had spontaneous abortion rates that were 18.2%, versus 14.7% in a control group, and 12% of working anesthetists were infertile, versus 6% of a control group. Another study confirmed that 16% of the children of practicing nurse anesthetists developed birth defects, versus a 6% incidence in a control group. However, other studies demonstrated a borderline statistical correlation between WAGs and birth defects. Studies are difficult to perform as human hospitals used various agents, control measures were inconsistent, and the amount of exposure to WAGs varied; nitrous oxide may have been partially responsible for some of the reproductive hazards.
Liver and Kidney Effects- Many halogenated organic compounds can cause depression of hepatic function and hepatocellular damage.
Other studies have demonstrated that exposure to high levels of WAGs effect motor skill performance and short-term memory.
Additional resources...
One (Popova et al. 1979) reported fetal resorption in rats at 9 parts per million
Assessment of occupational exposure to isoflurane administered in an anesthetic chamber within a horizontal laminar flow clean bench
Cooper D, Errede D, Streifel A.
Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science
November, 1998 37: (4) 64-67
Occupational exposure to isoflurane during anaesthesia induction with standard and scavenging double masks in dogs, pigs and ponies
H Säre, T D Ambrisko and Y Moens
Lab Animal
July, 2011 45: (3) 191-5
Isoflurane leakage from non-rebreathing rodent anaesthesia circuits: comparison of emissions from conventional and modified ports
C Smith and B Bolon
Lab Animal
April, 2006 40: (2) 200-9
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